Do It All Over Again
by Shadow000
Summary: Alternate universe. Justin, not Alex, wins the wizard contest and wishes on the Stone of Dreams. His wish doesn't go exactly the way he intended though. Previously titled 16 Again!
1. Chapter 1: Reversal

10 March 2011 - Hi. I'm not sure if anyone is checking for updates, but just in case I wanted to let you guys know that the story is going on hiatus. It just seems like a big commitment re-writing another episode let alone several and concluding the story, so this seems like the best place to halt things for the time being. I am still doing a lot of original writing and working on some other fanfiction in the meantime. Hopefully, I'll get back to this story in the near future.

0000

Lately I've watched a lot of WOWP and figured I'd check out a bit of fanfiction and noticed a distinct lack of stories like this (shockingly because many fandoms which have magic/supernatural have heaps of them) so here's my take on time travel/alternate realities/do over/story from a different POV.

_What if Justin won the wizard challenge? Unfortunately, his wish doesn't go exactly the way he intended._

**Prologue**

Alex was an accomplished liar. A pro. She had been lying to Justin his entire life. Justin didn't know when he had learnt to lie (not just making up invisible friends or that sort of thing but real lies). Max didn't figure it out until he was 4 or 5. By comparison, Alex was a precocious 2½ years old. She successfully pinned the blame on Justin for stealing cookies after she carelessly left the stool she used to reach the cookies on the counter there (along with the empty packet). By all accounts, that was young and advanced. That was Alex though.

13 years later, Alex had extra experience, conviction and attitude. Justin was her brother though. He usually knew when she was lying. He knew this time. Even Max would have seen through her feeble "it's fine". More important than Alex's skill at lying, was her self-admission that Alex Russo did not cry, which was another one of lies incidentally. She was on a verge of tears. Justin noticed the sheen in her eyes before the adverted her head and stared at the ground.

"I'm sorry," Justin offered, as if they were the magic words that could fix this.

He didn't know what had happened. Alex was just beyond an arm's reach from the power stretching by fractions of inches closer and closer. He was yards away. Justin never thought he would make it, but pumped his legs and urged the wind on his back to propel him faster. Somehow he got there first and became the full wizard. Both of them assumed it would be Alex, but it was Justin.

"You have to do the spell now," called Dad, interrupting the awkward standoff between them.

"Right, yeah," said Justin and shook his head in an attempt to banish all thoughts of competition. Focus. It was key to magic and vital to a spell of this paramount. Alter time and space. Easy-peasey.

Closing his eyes, Justin took a deep breath. Make-'Em-Ups. These were Alex's speciality. By nature they were impulsive and improvised, whereas Justin preferred carefully researched and learned spells. They were more powerful and safer. He didn't have that luxury now.

"Reverse the wish that Alex said, before we all are dead," he chanted.

Before he opened his eyes, he knew it hadn't worked. He dug his fingernails into his palms. Wrong words. Technically they couldn't die since they weren't born.

"Try another one. Focus," Dad urged.

"Reverse the spell, don't make me scream and yell."

Nothing.

"Alex, help me! What spell should I use?" Justin turned towards his sister.

"Why would I help you?" Alex sounded genuinely confused. Not angry or bitter, but disinterested. Like he acted on more than one occasion when Alex came to him for help.

"Please Alex. Don't do this. You're my sister," Justin begged.

"I'm your sister?" She said in a tone that implied that was as likely as her being an alien or junkie.

The blank gaze. Dry eyes. No snarky comments when his first spell failed. Alex had forgotten him. He felt so, so….lonely. Like he was the last person left on Earth.

"I'm Justin. I'm your brother. I mock you and laugh at you and get you into trouble but you love me anyway. I wish I could be more like you. I'm jealous of how good at magic you are and art and people. You make be a better wizard. Please don't leave me here."

"I don't know who you are. But I believe you," said Alex.

Relief flooded Justin's body. It was like gaining full wizard powers, but better. Family. Love. They were so much more than magic. If someone asked him even a day ago what was the one thing he wanted the most in the world, he would have said to be a wizard, but he realized how wrong he was.

As quickly as the relief came, it disappeared it the form of an angry, grey tornado that pulled Alex away. And he really was alone. Justin was frozen. He didn't know what to say, what to do, where to go from here.

"No…" he whispered, crumbling inside. "Alex should have won this not me!"

"Try again. You can do this," Dad coaxed.

"Because of words of hate, do not my brother and sister take."

That didn't even sound like a spell.

"Alex spelled us unborn, take it back I feel forlorn," Justin intoned.

What alternatives did he have? It was likely than he would run out of time before he ran out of was to make the same wish. Through the lump in his throat and a dry cough, Justin desperately voiced another spell.

"I don't like this world it's such a bore take us back to the way it was before."

Dad reached out and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Justin, I'm sorry. I think it's too late."

Justin flinched away, unable to stand the pity in Dad's eyes. He didn't understand. This version of him never met Mom, never had this family and couldn't phantom how it felt to lose it. "No, no it can't be."

As if conjured up by Justin's thoughts, Mom appeared. She held a necklace in her hand and wore an easy smile. "Hey! Would this help?"

She tossed it to Justin. He caught it on reflex and looked down at the purple rock. "The stone," he gasped.

"Be careful. You only have one wish, but if you do it right you can get your brother and sister back and still be a full wizard," said Dad. "Just wish for them to reappear."

He stepped back, giving Justin space and smiled encouragingly. Looked more upbeat now than only moments ago with the perfect solution handed to them. Or, rather, almost perfect.

"I want everything to be exactly the way it was," said Justin, closing his eyes and concentrating very firmly on family the way they should be.

He imagined Mom and Dad working in the Sub Station: Mom with her notepad and pencil taking orders, while Dad created sandwiches in the back. He paid particular attention to the sub station, clenching his eyes shut so tightly that it hurt, visualizing the movie posters on the wall, the ads, the blue sign outside, no detail was too small. He remembered their ridiculous orange-themed sitting room and that lamp they always broke.

And Justin's concentration wavered for a split second; his thoughts flickered to the time Dad broke the crystal ball. The toe-curling crash, the eerie mist and the remnants scattered on the floor. Forget mirrors and glasses and lamps. Breaking a crystal ball was bad news. How often had they broken Mom's lamp? At least 20, according to Max. Justin suspected that the count stopped there because Max ran out of fingers and toes.

The brightness around him increased, then dimmed suddenly. The world turned inside out. His insides squirmed and twisted like they were trying to break free of his body and make a run for it. It wasn't exactly like flapping butterflies in his tummy or even switching body, but sometime along those lines.

Suddenly he was sitting, which was good 'cause Justin was feeling woozy now, and Justin Russo_ did not_ faint (not including the time he was 11 and he got the flu vaccine). Nu-uh. All the same, he felt weak and wobbly and strangely dulled. The power was gone; the bonfire extinguished to embers. It felt like walking up a broken escalator or trying to jump from the ground after a trampoline. Everything seemed heavier and harder and unbalanced.

The stone worked. Justin knew it like he knew his name or Alex's (although that probably wasn't a good estimate since those details started to get fuzzy for a while there). He opened his eyes. The familiar haphazard, cluttered lair was around him. _No place like home._

"Did we go back in time? I gotta learn that!"

Max's exclamation was sudden and unexpected. Justin barely heard his words, just stared at his little brother. There was something about him that was….different. Not just Max, everything, but Justin couldn't put his finger on it.

Same curly hair and gleaming eyes. He had Justin's long nose and ears. Undoubtedly Max. But he looked kinda small and baby-faced like he did before he sprouted a foot and his voice broke over night last year.

"- emergency use only! It rewinds time for a few minutes to allow wizards correct a mistake," said Dad.

"Like a do over spell," Alex said. There was a glint of mischievousness in her eyes, no doubt plotting all the ways and situations that spell could get her out of.

"Yes but don't even think about it. It bends time and space you're not ready for it! No more questions."

It was a little late for that really. Alex bent time and space as far as it could go with a family wand in the heat of anger. They competed it the wizard contest and found the Stone of Dreams. A 5-minute rewind trick paled in comparison.

"Do people remember if there has been a do-over spell?" Justin found himself asking.

For example, why was no one acknowledging what just happened? Dad should be yelling already, not just lecturing. They should be grounded for life. Not this casual conversation. Had everyone forgotten but him?

"Only people in the magical world. Normal people just have déjà vu," Dad explained. "Stop asking questions!"

This whole conversation felt like déjà vu and they were all wizards here. What was going on?

"What's déjà vu?" wondered Max.

"It's when you feel like something's happened before," said Justin, a split second before Dad. Huh, coincidental. Great minds, as they say.

"Hey Justin, do you have 5 dollars?" asked Alex sweetly, in a distinctly un-Alex way.

"What? Yeah? Why?" replied Justin, patting his pockets and produced 5 dollars.

"Because I need 5 dollars. Déjà vu, huh Justin? Seriously, how many times are you gonna fall for that? I thought you were the smart one." Alex laughed and tucked the money into her pocket.

Justin rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe Alex was reusing scams. It came directly from two years ago. He would have imagined she grew more conniving in the mean time.

Wait. Hold on. Everything came crashing together. Alex wasn't cashing in on her old moneymaking schemes. This wasn't déjà vu. It was two years ago. Like this stripped sweater he was wearing that mysteriously vanished (Justin suspected Harper of pilfering it, but that wasn't a conversation he wanted to bring up with her ever).

The Stone of Dreams undid Alex's spell and switched everything back to way it was before. But Justin hadn't specified when exactly before was. He meant split seconds before the spell was cast. Not 2007 when he cast his first rewind spell. Magic was unpredictable like that with vague wording.

It was roughly 2 years ago and Justin was 16 years old. Admittedly, better circumstances than several minutes ago (or several units of time to be accurate), but it left a lot to be desired.

Oh dear.


	2. Chapter 2: 16 Again!

_Quick question: would you guys rather read this as a series with each story comprising an episode (probably 4 or 5 chapters and 5000-10000 words) or one mega story with them all merged together? Let me know! _

**Chapter 1: 16 Again!**

Score! It was just a simple locker combination, but it felt like such a victory. Remembering a two-year-old combination was impressive especially considering Justin changed it several times a year to be safe. The theme for his sophomore year was the birthdates of famous mathematicians. And Einstein's birth date granted him access to his locker.

Justin remembered writing down riddles for each code in his journal in case he forgot them Unfortunately, his journal was at home with his lunch and some books so he had to use a trial-and-error approach. After oversleeping (and waking up to Max jumping on his bed), Justin basically forgot everything he needed to bring to school and somehow found time to needlessly take his gym bag. It wasn't a good morning.

"Mom says get up or I can throw water on you," a young, squeaky voice announced.

Justin groaned and burrowed further under his blankets, hoping if he ignored the intruder that they would disappear. Why was there a random kid in his bedroom? Were his cousins visiting? Justin cracked an eye opened and almost choked on his retainer when he recognised the young face of Max grinning down at him. Of course Max sounded young, he was 12.

It was a jarring, unpleasant reminder of the situation Justin found himself in. It was stupid to think he could go to sleep and wake up to normalcy, but a tiny part of him hoped and was disappointed. Maybe he could just hide in his room for the next two years. That wouldn't be so bad. He could just sleep for the first year. It was only wishful thinking. He had to face the world and this problem eventually.

He stalled yesterday with a nap that turned into a solid 20-hour sleep figuring he should be rested and clear-headed before he approached the topic. Truthfully, he didn't know what to do. He wanted to check in with Alex first, see if she remembered anything before dropping the bomb on Dad; it was her spell to begin with and she was a wizard. It seemed unlikely though since she went off shopping or causing trouble or whatever she did when she went out. But she was slow on the uptake sometimes so maybe it would come back to her.

Justin couldn't believe it was morning already. He hadn't set his alarm, assuming he would be awake for dinner, but no, it was the AM and Max was bouncing on his bed. Justin was bad at mornings most days and the morning after alternate realities and quests and all-powerful stones was no different. He needed 10 minutes to wake up.

It was the reason he religiously set an alarm. He couldn't deal with people this soon after waking. Especially bouncing, hyper siblings with glasses of water in their hands - - wait, water. With a large demonic smile, Max tipped the water over Justin's head. Justin didn't get a chance to dodge or hide. The entire glass splashed onto his face, creeping down his pyjamas top and getting into his mouth and ears.

The icy shock was exactly what he needed. He was out of bed in 2 seconds flat, chasing Max to the door. Justin miscalculated, forgetting than he was half a foot smaller and 7 pounds lighter, and ended up flat on his face with his foot still wrapped in the blanket. Max cackled from the doorway and quickly disappeared before Justin could seek revenge.

Since he was late, he barely got a chance to eat breakfast let alone finish off homework or organise his backpack. He usually did those things the night before. For the first time in his life, Justin was unprepared for school. So yes, opening his locker was a big deal. It had his schedule and books. At very least he would make it to the correct classes and on time. He would take his victories were he could (it was that or have a mini melt-down).

The rest of the day didn't go so well (it was pretty sad the opening his locker was the peak of his day). He didn't have a permission slip signed for some trip that was due today in homeroom. In calculus they had a test, which Justin aced the first time around, but struggled with now. His mind was still in summer mode. Despite liking school, Justin still felt cheated that he went from the end of a school year right to the beginning without a break in between. It had been awhile since he did differentiation; last thing they did in class was integration and that was over a month ago (or would be a month ago from the spell, which was two years ish from now – this was confusing!). His grade average in calculus plummeted.

After calculus, he tracked down Alex loitering near his locker. He made a mental note to check if his locker was booby-trapped. Alex probably spent more time in corridors than in classrooms in school. It was her natural habitat. Still, Justin didn't like seeing her near his locker. It was suspicious.

Alex's eyes light up when she saw him. If she were the type of girl to jump up and down and clap her hands, she probably would be doing it now. She looked sort of bouncy in her scruffy converse. What was she so excited about?

"How was the kiss?" she demanded.

"Huh?"

That wasn't what he wanted to talk to her about. But once Alex picked a topic, she refused to stray from it. Unless, of course, it benefitted her and then the topic changed promptly.

"Don't play stupid. It doesn't suit you. _The Big Kiss_."

Justin frowned. The Big Kiss. The rewind spell. Two memories were linked closely together; he really should have remembered. "I forgot," said Justin, wincing.

He was supposed to walk Miranda to school. It hadn't gone well first time; no wonder he blanked it out. He completely freaked out about going to the dark alley instead of the haunted house. But at least he showed up. Justin was a good guy. He didn't pull stunts like this.

"What?! You chickened out, Justin! You're gonna die alone and old with 15 cats if you don't do this!"

"You haven't kissed anyone," he pointed out, opening his locker and all but flinging his calculus book into it. He probably should take it home to brush up on his calculus skillz, but Justin didn't intent to spend long enough in this time for it to matter.

"Uh, yeah I have."

"No. You haven't."

"Have."

"Haven't." Were they actually having this argument? It was so stupid. He was 16 again not 6. "Tell me all about it then," Justin challenged.

"It was at this place with a guy and it was very romantic over Christmas vacation," stuttered Alex, cobbling together a quick story.

Justin gave her a hard look. Seriously? Maybe the words dribbling from Alex's mouth didn't sound so lame to her own ears. He kept his mouth shut, letting her words linger in the air. As the silence increased, the excuse took on a pathetic quality.

"Okay. Fine. I haven't," said Alex, caving in and ending the silence. Victory! "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I never said I wanted to talk to you," said Justin. Unless Alex learnt a mind-reading spell, she couldn't possibly know that.

"Lucky for you, I'm fluent in Justish…Justinese…Justin-ian...whatever. You look like you're about to pee in your pants if you don't let it out," said Alex.

"For the record I think 'Justinic' sounds better than your ideas for my official language. I am open to other suggestions though," said Justin. "And yes I do, but I have Spanish in -" he looked at his watch "1 minute and 17 seconds, so in the meantime think about déjà vu instead of shiny stuff or whatever goes through your head in class. I'll tell you after school."

"Justin?"

"50 seconds," said Justin.

He slammed his locker closed and edged backwards away from Alex. The corridors were empty now with most people in class so backwards walking was reasonably safe.

"If you don't kiss Miranda, she will think you aren't interested," called Alex, pitching her voice extra loud as if Justin was at the other end of the corridor and not 5 feet away. He was asking for it though.

Justin shrugged and went to class, ducking behind a bin to avoid Miranda on the way (he would have plenty of time for that fun conversation in Biology later). Arriving late and breathless to Spanish, he mumbled a vague half-Spanish excuse to Mrs. Gonzalez. He supposed if one thing had to go right today and nothing else, the right thing went right. He avoided the humiliating scene where Alex tried to set him up with her. Spanish class was extremely _awkward _that day.

It wasn't such a bad day after all.

….

_Updates will be every 5-10 days, ideally weekly, but depending on how editing/writing is going I could be late or early. Hopefully I'll be writing one these notes next Sunday! =)_


	3. Chapter 3: Pizza

_Regarding Justin/Alex relationship, it's only a brother/sister interaction. I want to stay faithful to the relationship that we see on the show. I'm not sure how successfully I am on that front though. What aspects do you think work/don't work? _

**Chapter 3: Pizza  
**

"Mom got the Stone of Dreams back and I wished everything went back to normal and it did…two years ago," finished Justin.

He took a long drink of his orange juice his dry mouth. His voice was croaky from talking flat out the last twenty minutes. He didn't risk stopping and giving Alex an opportunity to de-rail the story. He paused now though, scrutinizing her reaction.

"Isn't it a bit early to psych me out about the wizard contest? Dad said it wouldn't be for years," said Alex. She examined her fingernails with purposeful disinterest.

Justin could practically see cogs and wheels turning in her head as processed the story. A quest, a competition, an all-powerful stone...it was a bit much. Combined with reality bending spells and wishes it was over-the-top. Unfortunately, it was his life.

"Elemental spells is such a lame concept, couldn't you have thought of something more creative?" she continued.

"I'm from the future," said Justin. He punctuated each word with a sharp wave of his juice bottle.

"Yeah and I'm Hannah Montana."

"What?"

"I thought we were playing let's say things we are not game," said Alex with a sarcastic smile.

"Let's play a different game: Lies Alex's told that I shouldn't know about but I do because I'm from the future," said Justin, adopting her mocking tone.

"I know the pizza guy wasn't responsible for letting Willie escape. It was little 5 year old Alex who wanted to take him for a little walk and he wanted to run."

Alex's eyes widened. "I thought you were from the future not the past? Ancient history. Pfft! Let it go."

"I didn't eat pizza until you told me a few weeks from now. I got bullied in the 6th grade for being the weird kid who didn't eat pizza!"

"I remember that," said Alex with a laugh and a distant look in her eyes. "And then for your birthday, everyone chipped in to fill your locker with pizza."

Justin scrunched his nose, remembering the stale cheese-y, pizza odour lingering in his locker for a good year. His books smelled of pizza for quite some time. On one of his slower mornings, Max confused Justin's English paper for leftover pizza and took a bite out of it. Justin had to hand it in like that since he didn't have time to rewrite it. He only got a B on that assignment.

"We should order pizza."

Justin would kill for a locker full of pizza now. Hot sizzling cheese, topped with mushroom and pepperoni. His mouth watered, just thinking about it. He couldn't remember being this hungry before (admittedly, he didn't usually go on extended hikes or duels either!). Justin grabbed a hotdog on his way home from school, but he was still starving. He would gnaw his own arm off or eat his homework if he didn't get real food before dinner.

Alex's mouth dropped open. Justin could have sworn there was even a click as her two jaws unhinged. "Really?"

Justin narrowed his eyes. He was a reasonable guy; he could admit the pizza ban was irrational, but not if Alex gloated about it (it was annoying enough first time around, a replay was unnecessary). It was all Alex's fault anyway.

Hah. Story of his life. He really ought to be used to it by now. Seriously. He couldn't think of a single bad thing that happened that Alex's didn't play a role in. Justin voiced this thought, racking his brains for a single incident that Alex didn't instigate or exasperate. It wasn't fair, he knew, but it was probably true.

"What do you want me to say Justin? I'm sorry for wishing Mom and Dad never met? I haven't done that yet. I don't even apologise for stuff I _have_ done."

That was also very true too.

"Sorry, it's just been a stressful few days." Justin rubbed a hand across his face. His tiredness was even greater than his hunger. This is probably what being 16 should have felt like first time around. Justin could have lived without this exhaustion and resentment. It was draining. Or maybe that was just time lag. Either way, he had no intention of hanging out in 2007 long enough to find out.

"You'll figure it out, Justin. You loved the Back to the Future movies. You know loads about time travel junk."

"But this is magic. Not science," Justin muttered.

Sometimes Justin felt like magic was the only thing he was good at. Lately, he just felt usurped by Alex in that arena. He would never have found the stone by himself. No wonder his wish didn't work; his mind wasn't pure enough, he wasn't clever enough, he wasn't good enough. It really should have been Alex who won the competition and wished on the stone.

Imagine if it had: the spell reversed to moments before Alex uttered her fateful words. Alex would insist on covering it up (and maybe she would convince Justin) and play happy families for the rest of the holidays. He might have even worked courage to order lobster. There was a little seafood restaurant down the bock where you could pick out one from the tank. He really regretted not getting the chance.

Alex blew out a heavy breath-hiss through her teeth. "Order that pizza. I do my best thinking on the sofa eating pizza and watch bad soap operas. I'll figure something out then."

Justin raised a skeptical eyebrow. Alex seemed to be confusing thinking with frying her brains and turning into a mindless zombie. He was desperate though and would try any option. And he did want pizza. It couldn't hurt.

"Deal," he said, standing up. "I'm not ordering pineapple on it though."

"It's one of my five fruit a day. I'll develop scurvy. Do you want that on your consciousness? Do you?"

"Fine. I'll order it with tomato if you are so concerned," said Justin, rolling his eyes and heading into the kitchen to find the menu and phone. This was the problem with pizza. Alex liked horrible combinations. Justin was a plain cheese kind of guy.

"Tomato is a vegetable not fruit," Alex called after his retreating back,

"Your face is a vegetable," Justin replied, not missing a beat.

Alex flung a cushion at Justin, hitting him right in the centre of his head. It bounced off and landed on the floor with a pathetic thunk. "Next time it will be a piano and your brain will be a vegetable," she threatened.

Justin couldn't let that slide. He picked up the cushion and tossed it back. Throwing things was never one of his strong suits and being off-kilter did nothing to improve matters. The cushion wasn't even in mid-arc and Justin could see it going horribly wrong (and nowhere near Alex's head!)

It was like slow-mo; he reached out as if he could stop the cushion. It continued on its destructive path towards a lamp, which fell to the floor and shattered. Justin flinched and lowered his arm awkwardly to his side.

"Oops."

"I can't believe that was you," said Alex. _And not her or Max_, went unspoken. Justin was supposed to be the good one.

Justin inspected the damage. With glue and time he could fix it. Honestly though, it was an ugly lamp. He really wasn't that bothered. Max would just break in within the next few weeks. Such a waste of effort.

"You know what you gotta do," said Alex.

"I do?" questioned Justin. He didn't like where this was going. Whenever Alex got that look in her eyes it meant trouble.

"Do over," said Alex simply.

"No. _No_. Noooo!" said Justin. He said it once more for good measure. He bent time and space enough for the rest of his life, thank you very much.

Alex hopped to her feet, raised her arms over her head and chanted: "Yes. McReary Time-Reary."

Time zipped backwards 5 minutes. Justin was back on the sofa; Alex perched on the arm of the far end clutching the pillow that caused the destruction.

"That was fun!"

"Emergency use only!"

Alex shrugged. "Honestly, Justin that's the least of your worries. Go order that pizza, quicker it gets here, the quicker my brain fixes your problems."

"There's a first time for everything!"

Alex threw the cushion at Justin's head. He managed to catch it and pointedly placed in on the sofa. It was physically impossible to kill the lamp with these angles, but he wasn't taking any chances.

Justin could learn from his mistakes.

_Follow the arrow to leave a review (you know you want to!)_

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	4. Chapter 4: Messes

_Apologies for the lateness of this chapter; my Internet is slightly dodgy these days. It's not quite 100% finished, but if I didn't post now it would be another week so I figured I would just have to send it out into the world and hope for the best! _

**Chapter 4: Messes**

"It's not you," said Justin, tilting his head to the side and making his eyes wide and sincere, "it's me." For extra emphasis, he placed a friendly, comforting hand on the mop in its general arm region. "I hope we can still be friends."

"_What _are you doing?"

Justin spun around and shoved the mop under his arm; yeah he was just standing here leaning on the mop, not talking to it or anything. His would-be casual pose crumbled almost immediately as the mop flopped under his weight and unbalanced him. After some arm flapping, Justin righted himself and faced Alex. His dignity was well and truly shattered.

"Uh, nothing."

"I know you don't have many friends, Justin, but don't add the mop to your clique. It's quality not quantity of friends," quipped Alex, arching an eyebrow.

"Haha, very funny," said Justin.

He turned the mop head back to the floor and re-absorbed himself in mopping. He hadn't even started before getting distracted. There wasn't even water in the bucket. Alex didn't know that though. Justin was banking on her getting bored and wandering off before he looked even more stupid cleaning the floor with a dry mop after he broke up with it.

Justin couldn't believe Alex caught him in a compromising position with the mop. _Again_. He wasn't even trying to kiss Miranda now, just break up with her, but the preparation events were playing out the same. Could he actually change anything or was he doomed to repeating every glory, disappointment and embarrassment?

Justin vigorously scrubbed a stubborn spot near the door, as though erasing that little spot might erase this little scene. Alex walked away first time with a look of contempt. Unfortunately _that_ particular aspect wasn't replaying itself.

"You can tell me now or ten minutes from now. You must be tired from all that mopping, you might as well take the easy way," said Alex matter-of-fact and hopped up onto the counter that he just finished wiping.

"Okay, how about I tell you while you deal with the tomato sauce and salt shakers," Justin suggested with a vague flapping gesture towards the counter where he had gathered all the containers that needed to be filled.

"Did you honestly think that would get rid of me? I play with these things _without_ getting paid," said Alex. She flashed him a friendly shark-like smile. "Spill."

Justin frowned. Darn. He should have suggested washing dishes or something. Strangely enough, Alex liked to pour things, preferably out of containers and making a mess, but she could make do with being productive. At least he would be finished up in the Sub Station quicker and Alex was known to have good advice now and then

So far she was strangely quiet about the time travel situation, claiming she was still processing. Alex, as a rule, didn't process; she acted and then reacted. Her inactivity scared Justin. It meant she didn't have any ideas, which meant he was stuck here. Since Justin didn't want to admit that yet, he pushed it out of his mind and focused on brushing up on calculus or sorting out the Miranda problem and tried not to let his mind wander from the task at hand.

Currently that was mopping the floor (or rather getting water to mop the floor). Using magic carelessly and lazily went against ever fiber of his being, but Justin couldn't bring himself to care at the moment. He would mop the floor standing on his head if it would make this any less awkward.

Justin slipped his wand out of his pocket, checked to make sure Alex was distracted with the salt shakers and muttered: "Fill this bucket with water, do not make me falter."

Water appeared in the bucket, filling from an invisible tap right up to the brim. Sneezing would probably cause it to overflow, let alone sticking a mop it, but hey, the point of mopping was to get the floor wet so no harm. Justin sloshed the mop in it and started mopping the floor for real, except you know, with cold water so it would hardly be an effective or hygienic cleaning, but whatever.

"Alright. I'm practising breaking up with Miranda," he admitted.

"You guys were actually going out? All you did was hold hands and stuff," replied Alex.

As promised, she was topping up the tomato sauce bottles from a giant one. Biting her lip, she looked utterly focused on the task (had she finished the salt already? Was that magic or was she just that good at it?). Not so focused that she couldn't give him a hard time.

"Kinda going out. So I have to kinda break up with her," said Justin. "I just need to figure out how.

"And when…and where…and why and who. How is only one of your many difficulties," Alex remarked. "You need to think big picture not details."

It was so much easier letting her breaking up with him, but he couldn't string out this relationship until the school dance (presuming he couldn't get back to the future in the meantime). It wasn't fair on either of them. He needed to man up and end it now.

"First time around you set her up with Matt to prove a point to me that I needed to kiss her and soon. Maybe you could do that again," Justin commented.

"That does sound like something I would do," Alex agreed. She shook her head. "It's not reproducible though. I can't plan these things."

"So when I do like her you undermine me and when I don't you undermine me. Can't you be consistent or do you just enjoy torturing me?" Justin grumbled.

"So what's the game plan? Squeeze as many clichés into a sentence as possible and hope for the best?"

Justin made a face. "Basically yeah. Unless you have a better idea?"

"Do what you've been doing all along she'll get fed up eventually."

"That's plan B."

"Take her to the haunted house on your way to school tomorrow."

"What? How can that be the answer to me kissing her_ and_ breaking up with her?"

Clearly all Alex's talk about knowing relationships was waffle. That just didn't make sense at all. Unfortunately Justin's advice options were very limited. Zeke, Max, Mom, Dad. Alex was the best of a bad bunch. Maybe he could ask on the Internet. People on the Internet knew stuff about stuff, didn't they?

"Simple. You'll get scared. She'll realise how high maintenance and whiny you are and then ditch you. Problem is you might get murdered by ghost. But that's love for you."

"I'm not whiny and high maintenance," protested Justin.

"I'm not whiny and high maintenance," Alex mimicked, putting on whiny, grating tone. "You still take baths, which last like an hour, and complain about current events all the time. You absolutely are."

"Your plan won't work. One, we didn't go to the house first time. She wanted to go to dark alley and she will want to that again this time and I have no intention of being mugged or knifed. Two, I'm not scared of that house. On my first date with my current girlfriend, who is a vampire by the way, we walked through a _graveyard _at night."

"A vampire? _Really_? You won't go into a dark alley for two minutes where you might get attacked but you enjoy going out with a blood-sucking fiend of the night who will drink your blood and kill you. And _I'm_ the inconsistent, one?

"Has anyone ever told you that you're kinda judgmental and mean?"

"In art today, I made Lisa cry when we had to give feedback on each other's paintings and I said it looked like one she did in kindergarten, so not in those exact words, but yes they have."

Justin blinked. "And somehow you make that sound like a compliment."

"It is what it is," said Alex with shrug.

She placed the last of the tomato sauce bottled on the table with a flourish. "And done. Even did the sugar too! Are you_ still_ mopping? Put some back into it. Remember you want to break up with the mop not dance with it."

"Don't you have trouble to cause somewhere that's not here?"

"Oh yeah I filled my quota. Miranda texted you earlier. The beeping was annoying me so I had to open the message, and I just happened to see what she said and may have accidentally replied and then cast a spell to make me sound like you and rang her to arrange a data tomorrow evening. You're welcome!" With that word vomit, Alex made a hasty move toward the exit.

"What!" Justin exploded, grabbing her arm. Woah, she couldn't just say that and vanish. Not cool.

"It's one of those artistic deep movies you like. You guys have so much in common. Why are you guys breaking up really? Think about it. You don't need to be lonely for the next two years."

"I've already seen it_. I'm from the future_!" Justin stressed.

It was a good movie though. He saw it several times since and wouldn't mind seeing it in the cinema again. Regardless, he did not appreciate Alex's interference (or the connotation that he would be here for the two years!).

"How could I forget? You never shut up about it!"

"You know what Alex? You always claim you know so much about relationships but you don't. If you did you would understand why I can't just string Miranda along for a few months. Stop interfering with my life!"

Justin shoved the mop back into the storage closest and stormed upstairs away from Alex before he strangled her. She was such a know-it-all, sticking her nose in everywhere. Wrecking everything. The one thing he asked her to fix, she turned her nose up at. It was so infuriating.

Justin couldn't cancel the date with Miranda. Not after spacing on their morning walk. He basically had to go to the cinema now and he couldn't break up with her after unless he wanted to send completely mixed messages. Could he break up with her _at_ the movie? It was a possibility.

Justin wasn't ready though. He needed more time to prepare himself. He had to plan, research, visualise and practise. Maybe make up some cue cards too. He couldn't rush into something like this. Not unless he wanted to suffer a heart attack in the middle of it. Justin didn't have that luxury though. He only had 16 hours. 16 days seemed a bit soon if he were to be honest

_Time_.

Man, that was such a screwed up concept in his life. He was in 2007, facing his first break up instead of his first kiss, and he just needed more time. Justin had far too much time on his hands really, two years too much, but somehow a day didn't seem like sufficient time.

Time sucked.


	5. Chapter 5: Break up?

_My 10 days update plan was a bit optimistic. Writing break-ups is surprisingly difficult. Like Justin I wanted to put off this scene. Here it is though. The chapter is extra long too. :)_

**Chapter 5: The Break-Up**

A movie theatre was not a good place to break up with someone. Justin really hadn't thought this through. He couldn't enjoy the movie with the break-up talk lingering over his head, but he could hardly break-up with Miranda and sit here with here for two hours surrounded by other happy couples. How awkward would that be?

"Do you want popcorn or nachos?" Justin cleared his throat or tried to hack up a hairball; he wasn't sure which. The result was unsuccessful either way.

"I'm okay."

"You sure? I need another drink. Mine is gone," said Justin.

He waved his near empty cup at her as proof. Between his dry, scratchy throat and fear of Miranda impulsively planting her lips on him, he drank from it almost non-stop since they sat down.

There was an awkward moment when he unthinkingly put it in the right-side cup holder. He sat petrified for like a minute wondering how he could move it to the other side without accidental hand contact. He waited until Miranda was busy switching off her phone and almost spilled it over himself in an attempt to swap it to the other side.

The trailers hadn't even started.

Definitely a bad idea.

Justin scampered out of the screen trying to ignore the little voice in his head suggesting that he should not go back. It was hard to shake it. Just going home, do some calculus homework over a nice soothing cup of camomile tea. Amazing. But on the flip side, there was Miranda sitting in a dark movie screen, checking her watch and texting him.

Justin leaned against a wall and closed his eyes against the bright light. He pressed his clammy hands to his face and took in a long deep breath before letting it out with a whoosh. If he didn't chill out, he would end up with a hernia. All the same, going back into the screen made his skin crawl. He would rather sit in a bathtub of spiders or going swimming with sharks. Actually, he would probably fare out better from those situations than this break up.

A soft warm hand touched his shoulder. Miranda? Justin's stomach plummeted to the ground; he flinched. If only it could drop all the way through the floor and take him with it away from this moment. Maybe it was just one of the staff checking to make sure he wasn't about to melt down. It was hardly a good option, but preferable. Only one way to find out. Justin cracked open one eye

He stared at the smiling heart-shaped face and dark curly hair of his sister for several moments before it clicked that it was Alex and not Miranda or some random person. He had never been so relieved to see Alex in his life. But what was she doing here?

"Jeez, Justin if you don't breathe you will pass out from lack of oxygen. You were doing so good for a moment there."

He gave her a tight thin-lipped smile. "Easier said than done. What are you doing here? Pointing and laughing?"

Trouble followed Alex around. Her presence was a glowing neon sign that this break-up would go so badly. As if he wasn't doomed already.

"I want to help."

"I think you've _helped_ enough."

Alex whacked Justin on his shoulder. "I didn't want to say anything since you're adjusting and all, but you need to work on your attitude future-boy. This grumpy woe-betide me schtick is so stale" – she punctuated her final words with sharp pokes to his chest with her index finger of steel - "Get. Over. It"

"Whatever," said Justin. He rolled his eyes and brushed passed Alex. He was out here to catch his breath and get a drink, not hang out with Alex.

He joined the queue at the food counter, resolutely ignoring Alex who followed him and was standing just in the corner of his vision. She fidgeted with her knee socks and scuffed the toe of her left boot against he ground, seemingly deep in through. The presence of Alex was a bad omen. A scheming Alex was a terrible omen. Yep, he was screwed.

"Miranda probably thinks it's hot, you know, Justin being miserable and self-absorbed. Probably not a good way to turn her off," commented Alex.

"Wow, Alex. You're _so_ helpful."

"I could go and tell her that you're a jerk if you want. Tell her that you still play with your dolls. Inform her in excruciating detail about your athletes' foot. Tell her you failed calculus 'cause of her," Alex pressed, relentless in her criticisms disguised as helpfulness.

"I didn't fail calculus. It was a D!"

"Wow. I just thought you got a B that's why you were sulking, not being able to bring your mathematical genius to the table with the time lag, but a D! The moodiness makes sense now. Your D is like my I."

"There is no such thing as an I grade."

"It's less than 9%. It stands for idiot."

"Really?" Justin couldn't help but ask. Alex sounded so matter-of-fact. The lowest 9 he ever received in a test had an 8 in front of (not including his disastrous calculus exam obviously) it. Grades below B didn't exist in his world.

Alex snorted. "Yeah. D is dumbass, C is competent, B is brilliant and A is awesome. Grades are just like the alphabet."

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit," Justin informed her.

"I know, but it always helps me drag you down to my level and I always win 'cause I have more experience. My methods don't need changing."

"Next!"

"Another coke," said Justin, approaching the counter. He rummaged in his pocket for money, producing a ten-dollar note.

"And a hotdog," piped up Alex.

"Are you paying? Since you stole 15 dollars off me?" Justin arched his eyebrows and gave Alex a hard look.

"You gave me the money, Justin. Go read a dictionary and learn the meaning of the word stole," said Alex.

"I think you stole my dictionary," Justin muttered, but paid for Alex's hotdog anyway.

"I can't believe I'm asking this, but what is your plan?"

If he knew her plan he could try to stop it. Better odds than being in the dark. He hoped. And there was the slim chance that it could be a good plan. Justin was a reasonable guy. He would hear Alex out.

"Tell her mom and dad won't let you see her anymore since your grades have plummeted. They think she's a distraction or bad influence or something."

"That's a lie." Adding lies into the equation would only make this break up more difficult. He would probably end up telling her the tooth fairy wasn't real in the heat of the lie or something equally stupid.

"Give me 24 hours and I'll make it a reality," Alex promised.

That was an excellent point. There was a good chance that Alex would do that regardless to take the heat off her own grades at some stage. It wasn't really a lie, which meant, he wouldn't be lying and wouldn't screwed it up. Yeah, that could work.

"Okay. Yeah. Bad grades. Focus on school. Parents." Justin nodded. He stopped, halting Alex with him. "Where are you going?"

"To make sure you don't chicken out or mess up," said Alex, chomping on her hotdog.

"But you haven't bought a ticket!"

"Shush! Do you want me to be kicked out? I'm not staying for the movie so I'm not paying for it."

Justin pulled a face. Not having a ticket didn't even cross his mind. He just didn't particularly want Alex there. That's how it happened first time. This needed to be different.

This was new Justin. He wasn't going to walk into the same traps situations all over again. He wasn't a sock puppet. He had freewill. Everything would be different. Including him. If a bad attitude was what it took, then so be it. Alex coasted through life the way she did. He wanted to give it a shot.

"Promise me something."

"Yeah. Anything." Alex licked a gloop of mustard off her finger and readjusted the tissue around the hot dog to prevent more dripping.

It was just so typical that one of the only times she would happily agree to something, it was carelessly. Justin was drop-dead serious about this.

"Promise not to say to the do-over spell," said Justin.

"And just sit back and watch?"

"Watch the trailers. Go home. I dunno. Just don't Alex. Please. I've been thinking. If there is any hope of me getting back to the right time all these little rewinds could stop me."

It took 18 rewinds first time to get a kiss. How many would a break-up take? Justin didn't think he could live through that many bad attempts. He would rather take his chances with one horrible one than a dozen more bearable ones.

"On that subject --"

Justin shook his head. "I can only focus on one momentous crises at any given time. Just let me get through this first."

Alex bit her lip and nodded. "Okay. Good luck."

"Thanks."

With that Justin went back into the screen and sat down beside Miranda. "The queue was huge," he said as a way of explanation.

"You missed the trailer Sorority Party Disaster 2. It looked terrible. I hate sequels. They are such a product of Corporate America."

"Uh yeah, I hate corporate America."

"Me too. I'm gonna start an after school club about it. We could be co-presidents. I'm still looking for sponsors though."

"I don't really have time for after school clubs I'm swamped with school. I got a D in a Calculus test the other day. My parents are gonna freak when they hear about it --"

"Is this a break-up?" Miranda twisted around to face Justin. Her dark eyes locked onto his, murky and intense with the 12 inches between them.

Justin bit his tongue, fighting the urge to deny her words. This is what he wanted. He kinda thought he would be more relieved or happy; instead it was just uncomfortable and sad. He couldn't believe she pre-empted him so quickly. He hadn't even gotten to the clichés.

"Uh no, I didn't mean, well you know, I-I-I know we weren't exactly going out, but my parents will blame you for my grades. But they can't do that if we are not going out. So I was thinking more a temporary break as opposed to break up, you know?"

Why had he kept talking? It was all going reasonably well until that last sentence. A break? A do-over spell seemed so appealing. Justin wasn't sure if Alex was watching (and, if so, if she listened to him), but he battled with the temptation to jump up and say it himself.

Justin couldn't tear his eyes away from Miranda, but at the same time he couldn't read her expression either. Surely she would rather a real definite ending to this relationship than a prolonged dragging out and death? Time for damage control: bringing out the clichés.

"I really like you, Miranda" -- or at least he had once -- "it's just the timing isn't good." Talk about the understatement of the century.

Miranda chewed on her lip, smearing her dark lipstick. She shook her head. "I need to think about this."

_Say no! Throw the coke over my head. Storm out. Don't get sucked into this!_ Justin screamed at her telepathically.

"Take as much time as you need." Nervous giggles threatened to escape from Justin's mouth.

Miranda leaned forward. Justin cringed and squeezed his eyes closed, expecting a slap. The slap never came. Instead, a soft, quick kiss landed on his lips. It was over as quick as it started.

Miranda grabbed her bag and stood up, a strange sort of smile on her face. "I'll see you around."

"What the heck was that?" Alex demanded, taking the seat Miranda just left.

"A break up?" Justin finally remembered to close his mouth. Strange, he hadn't remembered opening it, but there it was gaping open.

Alex looked unimpressed. "That's, like, the lamest break up ever."

Justin shrugged. It was a break-up of sorts. That was good enough for now. Miranda wasn't exactly the type of girl to wait around on some guy. That was probably a goodbye kiss, not a until-we-meet-again kiss. Maybe.

He would have plenty of time to overanalyze it later. For now, he just wanted to enjoy the movie. He wouldn't have a chance to see it in the cinema again (well hopefully).

_I never realized out often I use to word 'just' until this story when typing 'Justin just….'. It __just__ doesn't seem to flow right. Usually I like to wait a day or so before putting a new chapter out there to reread/edit, but it's been so long since the last chapter I'm rushing this one a bit. Like the last chapter there will be minor grammar/spelling/typo edits._


	6. Chapter 6: Options

_A slightly shorter chapter this time. It is an epilogue of sorts, at least to this particular episode of WOWP. The next chapter (or story – I'm still contemplating how to organise this fic) will pick up during the next episode with the pocket elves._

_Some episodes will be skipped and the amount of chapters per episode will vary. Having said that, nothing is set in stone. What episodes would you guys like to see re-written/altered by Justin's antics and what ones would you rather are ignored?_

**Chapter 6: Options **

"To Max and his sandwich artistry," toasted Dad, raising Max's sandwich (AKA abomination) in the air.

"To Max." Everyone else followed suit.

Alex made a sarcastic clinking noise and bumped her sandwich against Justin's in a mock toast. Some popcorn fell out the side. The New York Mets chose _this_ as their official sandwich? By smell alone, Justin was repelled.

He eyed the sandwich dubiously, trying to suss out what lurked inside (aside from popcorn that was). It was probably safer not knowing if he wanted to actually eat it and not vomit on it.

"There isn't cinnamon in this?" he asked.

"Grrmhf," said Max. His answer was incomprehensible around a large mouthful of sandwich. Seeing the half-chewed bread and fillings made the sandwich less appealing if that was somehow possible.

Justin dropped his sandwich on the plate. That sounded like a yes. Darn. Now he couldn't try Max's sandwich. Such a shame.

"Nope, no even a pinch," said Alex. She locked eyes with Justin, giving him a long, challenging look. He wasn't going to be able to wiggle out of eating the sandwich on her watch.

Unlike Justin who was allergic to cinnamon, Alex adored it. She could smell it from a mile away and taste it in anything. If there were cinnamon in the sandwich, Alex would taste it. Justin had no doubt. There went his excuse. It was probably a long shot anyway.

He picked up the sandwich again. Just one bite. Justin opened his mouth and nibbled off a bit at the end, avoiding the filling, but the gravy and peanut butter smeared over the bread was unavoidable. It would only get worse from here on in. He planned out a direct route to the bin to spit it out.

How had Alex eaten so much of it? Justin eyed her plate, watching her fidget with a knife and fork. Something wasn't right there. Alex considered cutlery optional for many foods that blatantly required cutler; she would not bother over a sandwich. Not unless she was up to something. With closer scrutiny Justin noticed her cutting up the sandwich and shifting it around the plate. She probably hadn't even touched it.

Justin had tricks up his sleeve too. Sure, Alex was a pro at hiding vegetables, but Justin had knowledge at his disposable. How could he use it to his advantage? A little fact from biology class a few years ago popped into his head: taste was mostly smell.

If he couldn't smell the sandwich, the taste wouldn't be a problem. He could eat just enough of it to show that he tried it. Justin pinched his nose closed trying to play it off as a sneeze and took a large bite out of the sandwich. The odd mixture of textures from mash potato to popcorn was enough to trigger off his gag reflex without the taste. He coughed and spluttered, but managed to swallow it.

"Awesome," Justin choked out, "perfect sandwich for the New York Mets."

Dad looked like he was about to burst from happiness. He bounced up and down on his toes like a kid, talking a hundred miles a minute. Justin caught words here and there - website, new staff, uniforms - he wasn't that bothered with the details. Only that it occurred. This hadn't happened the first time. Justin's rationale behind not using the do-over spell was completely selfish. He had forgotten about this.

How would it affect things in 2009 with the threatening recession lingering over their heads and the Sub Shop? Worst-case scenario: these alterations to time and space would prevent him returning to the future (and possible implosion of the world). There was also the possibility that he could bring these changes with him. Or perhaps nothing he would do would make a difference. Either he would be stuck here or return as if none of this ever happened.

Justin spared a sideway glance at Alex. She was completely zoned out, eyes distant and blank as she poked the sandwich. Nothing unusual. She rarely paid attention to Dad. He doubted she was just thinking about shiny stuff or high tops this time, not after she bought up the 'back to the future' topic earlier.

He didn't know whether he wanted to put that conversation off forever or demand to know Alex's thoughts right now. Justin's stomach churned and it wasn't just the sandwich. He wouldn't like Alex's conclusions. Best to get it out of the way. Like pulling off a plaster. One quick rip.

"Alex and me can look after the website," Justin blurted, interrupting Dad's spiel.

Dad turned to Justin, mouth still hanging open and eyebrows knotted together. Justin ignored him, focused on getting Alex's attention. He cast meaningful eyes at her. She blankly met his gaze for a moment; her eyes flickered to Dad and back again.

"We can?" she echoed.

Since the eyes weren't have much affect, Justin kicked out with his leg under the table.

"Ow," complained Max. "Who hit me?"

Wrong person. Max deserved it though after making that sandwich. In some cultures he would be stoned to death. Justin gave Max meaningful eyes now, but Max was too busy eying Alex suspiciously to catch the eyes. Man, he needed to work on the eyes. Clearly, not very effective. The whole situation was getting slightly ridiculous.

"Yes, we are very excited about it. Let's start right now," said Justin, hopping up from the table in the Sub Shop and pulling Alex along with him into the lair.

"What was that about?"

"Oh. I was getting impatient to hear your thoughts on my time dilemma," said Justin.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Next time text me and let me take the lead on the escape. That was pathetic."

"We're gone, aren't we?"

"Yeah but I'm not doing that website thing. I have to wash my hair or something."

"Since you have a fool-proof plan to get me back to 2009 in the next 24 hours I don't care," said Justin, aiming for flippant but it came across as somewhat desperate. He winced. He tried to play it off by casually flopping on the sofa and sprawling out.

Alex let out a sigh-hiss through her teeth and paced back and forward in front of the sofa. "Okay. The way I see it you don't have many options." She held three fingers in the air and ticked them off with her other hand as she spoke. "One: Full wizard powers and family and wand. Two: Stone of Dreams. Three…"

"Three?" Justin prompted.

"Three you wait for two years. Don't bring the family wand on vacation and I won't be able to cast the spell. I'm sorry Justin. I really am."

"It's fine."

It really wasn't. The words were sour and metallic in his mouth. Those were the obvious options. He rapidly dismissed them and hoped that Alex's thinking outside the box skills would shed light on a 4th option.

The wizard challenge hadn't proved successful last time (but maybe if Max or Alex won…) assuming they managed to convince Dad to let it happen. Justin had already used up his one wish on the stone and it was far too dangerous for Max or Alex to use unless their lives were genuinely at stake. That just left waiting patiently. Two years was a long, long time. Safe, yes, and the best option after digging a hole with magic. Stopping digging, walk away.

"You haven't told Dad yet," Alex commented in a would-be casual way.

"I think I should wait until he has a healthy diet and a more active lifestyle in case it gives him a heart attack. It's the responsible thing to do," Justin said, only half-joking.

The irresponsible thing would involve harassing the wizard council, finding the forbidden book of spells, searching the WizWeb and WizTech library in a systematic mission to get back. It would be a lot more difficult to do that if his every move were under scrutiny.

There wasn't a question about which path Justin would pursue. Usually he would make lists, analyze the pros and cons of each option, do some equations and then come to a well thought-out answer. Not now. Justin had been responsible with magic his entire life. For once, he wanted to be reckless. Break the rules. Cast dangerous, powerful spells and go back to his real life.

"What difference will it make? If you have to wait out the two years, you might as well have some fun with it. Take the pain out if it. Dad will only stop you," Alex rationalized.

It was scary having a similar line of thought to Alex. It had to be a bad omen.

Redo. Some people dreamed of this. Usually during a mid-life crises, but Justin was an old soul, so it was almost appropriate. It mightn't be so bad. Might as well stay optimistic as he tried to get back.

Bring on 2007.

* * *

_My proofreading has been very minimal for the last 2-3 chapters and because I've been so busy writing the next ones, I haven't really gotten to go over them. Since I'm between episodes now, it is a good opportunity to do so for once and for all before moving on. That's the plan. Not sure how it will affect the ETA of the next chapter, but as the cliché goes reviews always help ;)_


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